What’s the Difference Between Burnt Offerings and Sin Offerings?
The Old Testament Law given to Moses after Israel’s deliverance from Egypt was filled with rituals and sacrifices. All of this was designed to teach God’s people two very basic principles. These principles are fundamental for any civilization that seeks to perpetuate itself. The first principle is to comply with righteous and just rules that transcend human desires. For Israel, this meant they could have the favor, protection and leadings of God if they remained in harmony with His commands. This required sacrifices. The second principle is to live with humble gratitude (https://youtu.be/v_Zemcvt91A) for the freedoms that righteousness and justice provide. Israel was to learn this power of thankfulness by practicing heart gratitude towards God for all of His mercies. All of this required animal sacrifices. Why?
In the Old Testament, it is hard to avoid animal sacrifices. They first appear in Genesis after Adam and Eve sinned (https://youtu.be/JyUjpX1akCU) . The Bible tells us God provided them with animal skins as clothing. This would be an obvious reference to the fact that covering humanity’s sins could only be done through a sacrifice. This one example lays out how God would illustrate the need for justice to be satisfied up until Jesus came.
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What about the Tabernacle?
When Israel was wandering in the wilderness, God instructed them to build the Tabernacle (https://christianquestions.com/doctrine/1099-tabernacle/) . This would be their portable place of worship. It would be the place where God’s presence could be felt, and His favor would be evident. It was within this structure that many different kinds of sacrifices took place. There were sin offerings, burnt offerings, peace offerings and wave offerings just to name a few. As we look at this from our 21st century perspective, we wonder why.
What was the point of all these rituals?
This is a really good question. Though detailed, the answer is even better. Let’s start with the sin offering made on the
